Stoicism

Hi everyone. I am new to this site. I was born a Catholic but I have never really believed in God so I became an Atheist. Atheism, however, left a spiritual or philosophical gap in my life. Then, a few years ago, I started reading Meditations by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His writings provided me with great strength and comfort and I decided to become a Stoic

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy, founded by Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium (333 BC - 264 BC) in Athens, and which became popular throughout Greece and the Roman Empire. Stoicism teaches the development of self-control, fortitude and detachment from distracting emotions; the philosophy holds that indifference to pleasure or pain allows one to become a clear thinker, level-headed and unbiased. A primary aspect of Stoicism involves improving the individualís spiritual well-being.

Virtue, reason, and natural law are prime directives. By mastering passions and emotions, Stoics believe it is possible to overcome the discord of the outside world and find peace within oneself. Stoicism holds that passion distorts truth, and that the pursuit of truth is virtuous. The four cardinal virtues of the Stoic philosophy are wisdom (Sophia), courage (Andreia), justice (Dikaiosyne), and temperance (Sophrosyne).

Greek philosophers such as Cleanthes, Chrysippus, and later Roman thinkers such as Cicero, Seneca the Younger, Marcus Aurelius, Cato the Younger, Dio Chrysostom, and Epictetus are associated with Stoicism.

Stoicism became the foremost popular philosophy among the educated elite in the Greco-Roman Empire, to the point where, in the words of Gilbert Murray, "nearly all the successors of Alexander [...] professed themselves Stoics."

The word 'stoic' has come to mean unemotional or indifferent to pain, because Stoic ethics taught freedom from passion by following reason. But the Stoics did not seek to extinguish emotions, only to avoid emotional troubles by developing clear judgment and inner calm through diligent practice of logic, reflection, and concentration.

Are there any others who follow Stoicism here? Also, those who are not Stoics, please feel free to comment on it. I am curious to see what others think.

Interests:My biggest interests are reading and writing. I also love to research my genealogy and love to research other little historical people or events that catch my attention. I am really getting into homespun crafts and have recently learned howe to weave a basket, make my own paper and am currently learning to carve wood. <br /><br />I am married (10 years in 2006) and have two daughters who will be 10 and 8 in 2006. We all enjoy hanging around outside in our own yard, but also are fond of grabbing a South Carolina map, looking at it and saying &quot;this looks like a cool place&quot; and we will take off and drive there. <br /><br />I also enjoy meeting other people and learning about other places and cultures and have a few penpals that I am trying to be better at writing to regularly.

Posted 09 September 2007 - 08:43 AM

THanks for the info. I am not a Stoic, but I didn't even know it was considered a religion or life path. Thanks for sharing!

I must say, I feel that a large chunk of my life follows somewhat with that of Stoicism, even though I am not of the religion or any other religion than that of my own. But I thank you for introducing me to Stoicism.

If anyone is interested in reading up on and possibly taking up Stoicism, I would recommend that you read either Meditations by Marcus Aurelius or Letters from a Stoic by Seneca the Younger or both. There are other books as well. Stoicism, I think, is in the beginnings of a revival. I hope this topic might help it along.

Hi everyone. I am new to this site. I was born a Catholic but I have never really believed in God so I became an Atheist. Atheism, however, left a spiritual or philosophical gap in my life. Then, a few years ago, I started reading Meditations by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His writings provided me with great strength and comfort and I decided to become a Stoic

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy, founded by Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium (333 BC - 264 BC) in Athens, and which became popular throughout Greece and the Roman Empire. Stoicism teaches the development of self-control, fortitude and detachment from distracting emotions; the philosophy holds that indifference to pleasure or pain allows one to become a clear thinker, level-headed and unbiased. A primary aspect of Stoicism involves improving the individualís spiritual well-being.

Virtue, reason, and natural law are prime directives. By mastering passions and emotions, Stoics believe it is possible to overcome the discord of the outside world and find peace within oneself. Stoicism holds that passion distorts truth, and that the pursuit of truth is virtuous. The four cardinal virtues of the Stoic philosophy are wisdom (Sophia), courage (Andreia), justice (Dikaiosyne), and temperance (Sophrosyne).

Greek philosophers such as Cleanthes, Chrysippus, and later Roman thinkers such as Cicero, Seneca the Younger, Marcus Aurelius, Cato the Younger, Dio Chrysostom, and Epictetus are associated with Stoicism.

Stoicism became the foremost popular philosophy among the educated elite in the Greco-Roman Empire, to the point where, in the words of Gilbert Murray, "nearly all the successors of Alexander [...] professed themselves Stoics."

The word 'stoic' has come to mean unemotional or indifferent to pain, because Stoic ethics taught freedom from passion by following reason. But the Stoics did not seek to extinguish emotions, only to avoid emotional troubles by developing clear judgment and inner calm through diligent practice of logic, reflection, and concentration.

Are there any others who follow Stoicism here? Also, those who are not Stoics, please feel free to comment on it. I am curious to see what others think.

incidentally I subscribe a lot to these principles, by accident though. I'm agnostic.

Interests:I enjoy reading sword and sorcery books, golfing,watching t.v.,learning new things about almost anything,and of course spending time with family and friends.<br /><br />I recently started running and working out to get myself into better shape, but that is hard because I am not a healthy eater.

Posted 21 June 2008 - 11:21 AM

I have never heard of Stoicism but would like to learn more because it sounds quite interesting to me.